Paint by Shadows
by Dark-Eyed-Resolve
Summary: ShikaxSai Ink and shadows both move across the canvas of life and at the whim of the artist. If one can move shadows, can he also paint? If one can paint, can he understand the shadows? Two people do.


Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Naruto, and can hardly condone my own actions with them. I hope you enjoy and this is my beloved Heather-oneechan, I really hope you enjoy this the most.

Painting by Shadows

Summer had come and now it was slowly departing from the village of Konoha. The warm winds that had once held the people in full embrace had now become only lingering brushes of an old hand. Everything was changing but humans beings are always the last to adapt, the passing of seasons had no affect on the individualism of man. The long days, that easily conquered the night, had become soft and melted very easy into the growing power of the dark. It was almost impossible to remember the festive attitude of the summer days when you had the growing realization of winter showing. Today was a very mild atmosphere with very soft winds and with temperatures hot enough to make people forget they were well into fall. The village was growing subdued as the sun burned away its light, but there was one point where energy was swirling. The small apartment was inhabited by only one person, one that was highly talented and skilled beyond his years. All of the windows had been thrown open so the air could be cleansed and nothing would be stagnating.

The space inside was rather bare, it lacked the Uzamaki clutter personality, but it definitely had a character that was unique to the owner. The scrolls of varying lengths and widths were stacked against the wall. The contents of these works were hidden from everyone but their artist; the hidden, deadly tactics were painted in each stroke. Bottles were scattered in small groups all around the place, which made them look like small cities. They each seemed to have their own set of curves and levels of black fluid. A very select number of the glass vessels held a color, they seem to be treasured by the room's occupant. The sun light twisted and slid along the smooth surfaces, gazing such elegantly designed contours. The wind crept into the apartment with hardly a whimper but grew attracted to the large displays on the walls, giving them a bit of a rustle. Strokes had been paired with strokes to create well known sayings and messages that had heritage. It would take a trained eye to pick up the details and the composition of kanji, it was something that took a great deal of practice to truly become calligrapher.

All of these things were great pieces but none of them could match he beauty of the male youth, who stood solitary in his home. Sai ran a stained hand through his coal black hair which was tinged with dampness from sweat. The bangs flopped for a moment before stubbornly falling back to his face, a face that was dusted with beauty and created with Asian features. A trickle of sweat ran down his thin neck and slide down his unclothed chest; tracing the defined, toned counters of it. The traveling bead continued down further and rolled over the slight humps of developing abdominal line. The little drop was absorbed into the waistband of his pants and rest of himself was covered from prying eyes. He was standing in a way that did not hide his exhaustion, his body lacked any rigid stature and his breath was heavy. Smudges of ink were swiped along his hands, arms and even against his stomach. It was odd to seem him so disheveled since his training had always focused on blending in and hiding one's true intentions. The boy was bared in his room and art always pulled out his inner emotions, naked with his brush.

He tilted his head to look out one of the open windows and the sun was starting to head to bed. The shadows had grown so long and black, these shadows were almost as solid as the objects that had cast them. It was that time of day when the night pushed and worked itself into the daylight; it had waited far too long to be held back now. Sai returned his attention the large piece or paper that he had put up on the wall but it was still blank, it had been all day. He hadn't found the right image to flow form his fingertips and to direct his brush, at least not the proper image to grace such a massive canvas. Ink had stained and swiped along everything else but when it came to this piece of paper, something that was going to be a gift…nothing in his head matched the will of his hand. He had never made something in preparation to give it away, the book had been for him and his brother. The pressure of pleasing a person, and not just a commander or a teacher, but this was a person that he cared about. The books listed several ways on how to express such a feeling, and making a gift was suppose to be one of the top ways of doing that.

Shikamaru Nara stood outside the apartment and lingered like the shadows he so expertly controlled. The thin wisps of smoke rolled off his lips, it had been harder to quit than the boy imagined after taking them up for Asuma. The cigarette provided a moment of instant peace and relaxation, two things that were hard for Shikamaru to just give up. He wasn't really looking at anything with his head tilted up to the sky, his attention was drawn by the sound of heavy breathing from inside. The smoke grazed his lips as it slowly lingers into one of the open windows; it was trying to draw the chuunin into the den of the beast. That beast though was he really someone to be trusted, was Sai worth the risk Shikamaru was taking, so many troublesome questions that artists brought into his mind. He flicked the burned out nub into the air where the orange light died out before hitting the street. The gray smoke was his trail as he slide his hand across the door and pushed it on open into the small space. A light smirk danced up his face when his eyes fell upon the bared back of Sai, the boy was so lean that the muscles could easily be seen by the roaming stare. The boy wasn't they only thing worth looking at but also the amount of disarray that was present, bottles and scrolls…this was not the typical environment he had expected.

"Creative Chaos, Sai" Shikamaru commented aloud while beginning to walk around the room. He wasn't even looking at the other boy but mostly taking in everything that was left out, and those colored bottles caught his eyes. The first token that had been exchanged between them and it seemed to be in the same shape as it when they left his own hands, "Not into color yet?"

"I just want to use them for something special since they were a gift." Sai spoke up for the first time since Shika had walked into his room. He stretched his hands up to the sky and muttered something before relaxing out his body once again. The lean muscles shifted under the smooth skin which was emphasized by the shadows, the world was becoming stark and subtleties were vanishing. The growing effect made things appear to be strokes of ink on the canvas, a world that Sai was happy in and where Shikamaru was comfortable. The pretty ninja turned away from the white scroll and focused on the genius that was browsing the colored vials, "I am not used to suffering from creative blocks."

"Being creative like you would give me a headache, way too much effort." He was either teasing or being serious but it was lost in his dead pan tone. Nara put down the blue ink he had picked up and finally began to walk over to Sai, and two finally met near his bed. Sai with his small smile that no one could ever read, even as Shika got to know him better there was a mystery that made him suspicious. A genius should know better than to get caught up with a suspicious person, this situation was always a poor move to make. That didn't mean it wasn't without merit, Shika might be able to find out his intentions or find what lies under the programming of the Root training method.

"Tactics take creative thought, you have to be able to think outside the known and formulate most probable outcome." The dark haired youth spoke in reply while his hands reached out and began to touch along the green jacket. He direct his fingers over to the zipper and plucks it like a musical string to draw it down, and Shika offers no resistance as it falls away. The ink smudged hands press against the mesh covered body underneath, they yearn to touch without fabric boundaries, "You could have thought out of the boundaries and not worn so much either."

"Well we all don't run around with our stomachs bared." He answered back with a sigh and decided to lend a hand in his own disrobing; and with deft hands the tight underclothing was pulled off and his well toned torso was now freed, "But I am not one to talk now." The genius raised an eyebrow as his lips were captured in a kiss, but Sai enticed him so greatly. The uncertainty kept him on his toes and his mind always going, this was just like a game of Shogi…each move would lead closer to his prize. He could feel the brush of finger tips down the sides of his neck and flowing over his shoulders, they seem to come to rest for the moment. The kiss deepened as tongues invaded into opposing mouths, lips growing warmer and wetter the longer they kept connected. Shika pushed his tongued deeper into the sweet mouth of the artist, whose fingers gripped harder in response as any audible signs of pleasure had been muffled. He could gage enjoyment by more than just sound, Sai's touch, his stance and the way his body shivered in reaction to a single action. Sex and strategy were tied into each other in the genius mind of Shikamaru, where the goal was to bring both to climax.

The couple moved closer to the lone bed, which had only been dressed with a few sheets. Sai glanced over Shika's shoulders before giving him a nudge, letting the shadow user know that directions were changing. The bed dimpled under the weight of the seated ninja, who was more interested in stripping off those dark pants from Sai's pale body. Thumbs traced along the ridges lines of his stomach, it was that trademark lower abdominal v-shape line; it was still ionic even in the village of Konoha. Sai purred as the fingers stroked his sides and felt the smooth skin up his stomach, which he obliged by tightening up his tummy enough to let his abs show. Shika must have appreciated it because lips were soon moving up and down even his tongue was traveling that seductive trail.

Two pairs of hands began to push last bits of clothing as fingers hooked into his pants and underwear; it was a slow and deliberate movement. Sai shifted his hips in a playful manner which not only helped shimmy down his pants, but also helped to slide Shika's lips against his groin. The genius changed his tactics once more, since now his hands were occupied with a newly revealed part of the other's anatomy. The toned globes of flesh, fat and muscle were so round that no could not help but squeeze them; that was precisely the course of action Shika was taking. They molded into his palms with ease. The longer he kneaded those flawless, porcelain cheeks the more tender they came, and the more pliable his counterpart became.

Sai ran his hands down to Shika's shoulders, but not before touching the handsome face that was looking up at him. He traveled over the brow, along the cheekbones and over those stern looking lips, which were thin but still desirable. The youth moaned and inhaled a breath when hands grabbed his round ass, if he wasn't aroused already it was now plain to see. Sai let the shadow user squeeze on his body for a few more moments before his talented hands pushed on Shika's shoulders, it was time to change strategies again. The long haired man complied and lowered his body until he was fully reclined on the plain bed; it merely dimpled under his lean weight. The standing boy looked down at his partner with just a smile on as he seemed to bask in the dying light of the room about them. The bed made a slight groan when Sai climbed over it and settled his body on the still clothed thighs of the birthday boy. Shika could feel the heat through his pants and his hands were already attaching to the slim, but curvy hips; he made sure to bring the boy down to his level. The two kissed once more, though this was hungrier and wetter than the first time; soft pants and moans the only spoken words.

The two bodies were eventually pressed against one another and both gave a satisfied purr at the situation. Shika drew his fingers up and down the pale back; the muscles flexed up and twitched with each light touch that passed over. Sai shifted his hips side to side and grounded his crotch against the growing bulge of the other's pants, and soon his trained hands were moving down south. The manipulator of shadow did nothing to help in his pants being loosened, not that a capable ninja like Sai would any help with it. He wrapped his hands into the short black hair, keeping those lips pressed to his own while his tongue attacked the wet mouth. The slick noises grew louder still as the two young men were loosing their respective restraints that made them both seem so cool and detached out in the public world. Slender fingers were pushing down the pants on Shika's lower half, it didn't take much to get his flesh freed and standing rigidly wanting more attention from the other ninja.

The lips were broken apart, a heated sigh was the last link of a fading chain, Sai had new plan in his own mind with his body descending downward. He kissed and touched his way down to the burning desire of his counterpart, and once there gave it a teasing lick. A wet drop fell on to his sliding tongue as the youth continued to run his tongue over the throbbing shaft; while his hands continued their previous job of working down those, as Shikamaru would say, troublesome pants. Nara wasn't going to stop the actions, he had no problems with just laying back and letting Sai take the lead. He really didn't mind when he felt those lips around the tip of his cock, or those hands sliding along his thighs…it was all reminds of why he was trusting now. The bed lightly began to shake with the rising and falling of Shika's hips which were being driven by the expert oral skills of the pale artist. He hummed some song inside of his throat which only worked to vibrate and chill the spine of his lover. Those dark eyes looking up to watch with glee at the way Shika's body began to twist and contort from each little prick of passion.

The mouth play went on for a few more indulgent minutes, but this was only the opening to the greater collision of bodies and sounds. Sai only pulled away, with his lips slightly swollen, after the flesh was damp and fully filled by the rich, coursing blood of the other's body. The tense muscles of the artist's body flexed and moved while he climbed back up to claim a kiss, each well trained muscle fiber worked so smoothly under his skin. They kissed once more, their naked bodies pressing against one another. Shika moved his hands over the sides of Sai's laying figure, it was relaxing to have a body to hold on to…a body that was living and needed to be loved. As the light massage went on, the Root solider was pushing his fingers into the slightly open drawer to retrieve the final piece for the night exercises. Sai dug his fingers into the pillow and hoisted himself, with a cat like arch, and fingers were glinting in the flickering light of candle.

"Do you need some assistance?" Nara questioned in a heavy, throat reply as he tried to focus on making things more comfortable for his counterpart.

"Just hold me steady." He spoke back in a illicit whisper as his fingers slide down between his tender backside, searching for the right spot.

"Ahhh." He closed his eyes and let himself drift into a state of psychical pleasure as his fingers pushed into the velvet tight heat. The artist continued to open and make himself ready for the fucking that was about to happen, even his body was beginning to thrust in time. Shika dug his fingers into the supple flesh of the boy's hips, holding him as he too began to slide his needy flesh along the curve of the round ass. Sai slid his free hand down to his leaking shaft, he was all to ready to pump and work his entire body in tandem. Two sets of hands are satisfactory but they are hardly genius or revolutionary for the two, so Nara began to focus. The once stale darkness turned to life as charka began to coax and pull the strings, fingers solidifying and reaching out from the beyond.

Ebony arms began to curve and twist up along the athletic body, Sai could feel the pressure and cried out as they targeted his nipples. The erect nubs were tugged outward and pulled to the point of pleasure mixed into pain, then they were slowly let go for a moment. The teasing ministrations where all from the tactical mind of Nara, each movements would all to further bring the artist to the breaking point. The pale youth was sore but ready, his nipples tingling with his pulse and his body tightening around his fingers in time.

"Looks like it is time to finish this masterpiece, to restore my creative spark." Sai announced as he pulled his slick fingers out, which was quickly replaced by the nudging tip of Shika's cock. He was not going to deny the shadow user now, this a way to give a gift back…a gift not just of his talent but of his body.

"Mmm, thank…you…" Shikamaru offered his deepest gratitude as he tensed his body and pushed his hips forward. He was answered by the tight heat of his counterpart's body, which was tightening up in mere seconds when inside.

They were in synch, they were one. The bed swayed and protested the quickly shifting weight upon its back. They spoke to one another in hot moans and desperate yearnings for release, but neither wanted it to end so soon. Fingers dug across skin that had been constantly battered by knives, shurikens, and whatever the next ninja had up their sleeve. Shika was now aware of how short life can be with Asuma's passing, and he wanted to cleave to someone…to share that close and intimate bond. Sai wanted that bond too, he was going to know all the full emotions of humanity. The intense heat of sexual passion, the deep sensation of trust, and possibly the sadness that tears you apart at loss. One forged bonds through teamwork, loss, gain, sex, and myriad of other life's trials.

Sweat was running down the grooves in their bodies and faint light played upon the light shine upon their figures. Sai continued to ride upon the Shika with his torso stretched upward towards the ceiling, shadowy hands moving and touching. Nara had some amazing concentration skills to be able to focus while his lover bounce up and down or clamped tighter and tighter. The painter also had his own hands busy with feeling up the body withering underneath his thighs, each sensation was unique and wouldn't be forgotten. They pressed their lips together as Shika picked up his pace, it was the time of the final move in this game.

"I..I can't hold it back any longer.." Sai pleaded with his stamina failing and his hips burning as much as his nipples. The boy's hands holding to both the sheets and Shikamaru's shoulders, really pushing down and grinding his firm buttocks against the other's crotch.

"Then…don't." Nara answered as he too gave into his wants and his body came alive with white hot flame and shivering chills. He emptied himself into Sai and Sai exploded over both of them, it was check mated at that point. They had both won in this match, and the spoils were rich and plentiful.

Words were pointless with the expression of physical devotion they two had shared, they would continued to speak in actions. Sai held himself up for a few more moments, a spare towel wiped off the two of them with slow, easy strokes. Shika sighed softly at the touches but was mostly content to watch his lover, especially to see a true smile upon his delicate lips. The candle was on waning breath by the time the two had finished, so the two were being increasingly more lost within the folds of the night. Children of shadows, one raised to use them and one raised within in them. Sai reclined himself back against the bed, though he was still mostly on top of Shikamaru; they were a happy though tired entanglement of limbs. A passing look was given before light vanished in a kiss of smoke.

Sunlight was barely creeping into the apartment when Shika awoke, but not from light but from the sudden feeling of lightness. Sai was no longer there but that wasn't too surprising, the boy probably an assignment with his own team. Nara grabbed his thrown clothing it was so troublesome to have to deal with the morning after rituals of dressing...then going back home to get really cleaned up. As he turned to go out the door, his eyes passed over the work space and something was much different than it had been the night of his arrival. The great blank scroll had been covered, Sai really did have his creative block shattered by their love making.

"Hmmm, perfect." He said simply as he walked up to for a real look over before rolling it up to take with him. The vivid blues and reds had been worked into the normal blacks, making the shadows in the ink painting shine and live. Shadows that shaped into living entities around the solitary figure in the picture, picture whose nude figure was remarkable accurate.

"He paints those shadows well too."


End file.
